(Dublin/Brussels 12 January 2004) As the Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern prepares to address the European Parliament this week on how Ireland intends to guide the EU through the next six months, Amnesty International is calling for serious improvements in EU human rights policy inside Europe.

Dublin/Bruxelles – Alors que le Premier ministre irlandais, Bertie Ahern, doit s’adresser cette semaine au Parlement européen pour dévoiler la façon dont l’Irlande entend conduire l’Union européenne (UE) dans les six mois à venir, Amnesty International demande que l’UE mène une politique en matière des droits humains propre à assurer un meilleur respect des droits fondamentaux au sein même de l’Europe.

The submission includes a brief note on general EU concerns and a set of country reports for EU and candidate countries which will form part of Amnesty International’s report “Concerns in Europe and Central Asia”.

Brussels (30 Sept.) As EU foreign ministers meet today to decide the EU’s response to US bilateral agreements aimed at exempting US personnel from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, Amnesty International has handed the Danish foreign minister, Per Stig Moller, the results of its global petition calling on all governments to refuse to enter into any agreement that grants effective immunity from prosecution for crimes under international law.

On the eve of Denmark’s accession to the Presidency of the European Union, Amnesty International has addressed a detailed memorandum to the Danish EU Presidency with proposals for improving the EU’s human rights record, both within Europe and beyond its borders.

ONE STEP TOWARDS RESTORING THE BALANCE: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL WELCOMES SEVILLE SUMMIT SHIFT FROM SANCTIONS TO “COOPERATION” BUT MAINTAINS CONCERN ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS IMPACT

War Against “Illegal Immigration” Puts Human Rights At Risk

 NEW REPORT FROM AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

On the eve of the Justice and Home Affairs Council, the Secretary General of Amnesty International, Irene Khan, in Brussels for talks with EU policy-makers, issued a strong appeal for the European Union to take a global lead in efforts to protect human rights in the aftermath of the 11 September attacks.